HISTORY OF NIGERIAN MASS

MEDIA
• What is History? History is defined as a
 Mode of communication in Nigeria
before the arrival of mass media
• In the ancient Nigerian societies, folklores, music and dance were
used to disseminate myths, fades, taboos and great
accomplishments. Meetings, festivals and ceremonies as well as
markets, provide the venues as both beats for news as well as
medium through with news is circulated. Town criers were the
walking media, they disseminate real information to towns using
metal gong to attract people’s attention.

• Newspaper was the first mass medium to arrive Nigeria.

The history of Nigerian newspapers is categorised into 3 phases.
a. Foreign-owned Press
b. Indigenous Press
c. Post-independent Press
• FOREIGN-OWNED PRESS: The first newspaper in Nigeria was
a missionary newspaper owned by a European missionary named, Rev.
Henry Townsend. On December 3, 1859, Townsend established a local
newspaper called Iwe Irohin in the Yoruba land. Townsend was the
pioneer press Man of nigerian newspaper. Iwe Irohin was officially
called: Iwe Irohin Fun Awon Ara Egba Ati Yoruba. It means: “A
newspaper of information for the Egba-speaking people and
Yorubas”. Egba is in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital.

• The editorial policy of Iwe Irohin combined social, cultural and

political commentary with religious reporting, in a bid to reach a
large native readership throughout Egbaland and Yoruba.
On October 2, 1867, a fierce war broke out in Abeokuta leading to
the expulsion of all Europeans, the looting of mission buildings and
the destruction of the printing press. Iwe ceased to exist.
 Anglo African: This paper was owned by Robert Campbell. It was
established in 1863. Anglo African is regarded as the forerunner of the
Lagos press. This means that Anglo African paved way for other
pressmen to start establishing Newspaper companies in Lagos.

• Lagos Weekly Record: John Payne Jackson established this

newspaper, Lagos Weekly Record in 1891. He was an
Americo-Liberian Journalist and was born in Liberia but
became much influential in Lagos where he established his
newspaper. The newspaper exposed most ills happening in the
society. When payne died, the paper was controlled by his son,
Thomas Horatio Jackson. It paper ceased publication in 1930.
The period between 1891 and 1930 was the era of government
exposure; some would call it “the era of the JACKSONS.”
Other foriegn-owned were: Lagos observer, The Nigerian
Chronicle, The Lagos standard etc.
 Reasons for the downfall of early press: (a) Finance (b) language
barrier (c) choice of the people (d) religion (e) poor government-
pressmen relationship

• INDIGENOUS PRESS: The first indigenous newspaper in

Nigeria was the Nigerian pioneer. It was founded in 1914 by
a lawyer, Kitoye Ajasa. This paper lasted for a relatively long
time due to its pro-government stance: 1914-1937.

• African Messenger: This newspaper was established by

Ernest Sesei Ikoli in March 10, 1921. He was both the
publisher and editor of the newspaper. It was a weekly paper
and was sold for three pence. It ceased publication in 1926
when it was transformed into the Daily Times with Ikoli as the
editor.
The Lagos Daily News: The Lagos Daily News was the first daily
paper in the country. It was founded in 1925, by Herbert S. Macaulay.
Later, Macaulay and Jackson later established the Nigeria
National Democratic Party (NNDP). It became the mouth piece
of NNDP

The Nigerian Daily Times: This was the second daily

newspaper in Nigeria. It was established on June 1 1926, a
year after the emergence of Herbert Macaulay’s Lagos Daily
News. It was owned by group of intellectuals, four foreigners
and one Nigerian: Richard Barrow of the Lagos Chamber of
Commerce; V.R.R. Oxborn of John Holt Ltd; W.F Barker of
British Banks of West Africa; L.A. Archer, a businessman; and
our very own Sir Adeyemi Alajika, a legal practitioner and the
only Nigerian member.
Nigerian Daily Times was later changed to “Daily Times” in
1948. the era of daily times was called “era of
mechanization”
Daily Service: Daily Service was founded in 1933 and existed in the
days of the Lagos Daily News. It later became the political organ of the
Lagos Youth Movement and afterwards, Nigerian Youth Movement.
The Nigerian Youth Movement later transformed to the popular party named:
Action Group. It was formed by a group of young intellectuals one of
whom was Ernest Ikoli.

West African Pilot: Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe established the West African
Pilot on 22 November 1937. The West African Pilot, developed local
publications across Nigeria; though, Pilot was largely Pan-Nigerian
in outlook. It acted as the mouth-piece of the National Council of
Nigeria and the Cameroons NCNC (later rechristened National
Council of Nigerian Citizens)
Other newspapers owned by Zik were: Eastern Nigerian Guardian,
Port Harcourt (1940), The Nigerian Spokesman, Onitsha (1943),
Southern Defender, Warri (1943), The Daily Comet, Kano(1949),
Northern Advocate, Jos (1949), The Sentinel, Enugu (1955).
Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo: This paper was sponsored by the
government of Northern Nigeria, It was established on January
1939. Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo – meaning “The truth is more than
money”, was the first vernacular paper in the North.

The paper was reputed for promoting Hausa language and literature in
Northern Nigeria. It was edited by Abubakar Imam.

Nigerian Tribune: In 1949, Chief Obafemi Awolowo established

the Nigerian Tribune in Ibadan. The Tribune served as the
mouth piece for Awolowo’s populist welfare programmes.

POST INDEPENDENCE PRESS: These are newspapers that

surfaced after independence.
The Radio: Radio is an audio-only medium, through which
signals are transmitted through the help of electromagnetic wave.
Radio, according to O.S Coker started in Nigeria in 1932
through the activities of the BBC Empire Service, also known
as Radio Distribution Service. First wired-wireless system
began in Lagos on December 1935.

Radio Distribution Service faced some problems ranging from

shortwave transmitter, language barrier etc.

The affairs of radio was later managed by Nigerian

Broadcasting Service which began operation on April 1 1951
under T.W Chalmers, the first Director General of NBS. In 1957,
Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation replaced NBS.
• The Television: Television is an audio-visual electronic medium.
It is audio visual because it has both sound and sight features.
One of the greatest concepts of television is believability.

• Before Nigeria saw the light to owning an indigenous

television, there was the BBC. The Western Region, under
Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his party men took the first move
of establishing a regional television named Western Nigeria
Television in 1959.
• Other regions adopted the Western Region ideology and
acquired their own regional TV. But this regional television
acquisition made TV programmes a regional affair; they
operated on the idea of my-tribe’s-interest-should come-first. It
was in 1977 that the government established N.T.A to manage
and direct the affairs of regional television stations.
What is Press Freedom? Press freedom is the right, freely to
publish without censorship or other government interference,
usually restricted in practice by laws barring obscenity, sedition,
libel etc.
It is the right to make known, to publish, in terms of the print
media, to broadcast in terms of the electronic media; to
transmit through the internet in terms of social media and to
exhibit or show or model in terms of the alternative media,
without the interference of authorities constituted by laws,
such as the government.
Essentially, press freedom, being one of the crucial society’s
freedoms, is the right of the press to publish any information
that is not clearly forbidden by the law.
 Media Deregulation:

Media Deregulation is the removal of government laws,

earlier restricting private broadcast media ownership.

General Ibrahim Babangida in 1992 declared private

ownership of broadcasting media in Nigeria.
In order not to allow mischievous ownership of broadcast
media, Gen, Ibrahim formed a body who would check the
affairs of the prospective private broadcasting media as
well as issue license of operation. NBC, National
Broadcasting Commission was formed in 1992.